"Radin on the Parade"

I figured I'd make the title to this one as cheezy as the experience, or at least matching in its ridiculousness. Tonight Haircut and I went to the Joshua Radin concert. I must admit I didn't expect much--I'd only heard his recordings online and wasn't too enthralled. But one of my good friends told me that Josh's live show was amazing, and that I should definitely go. So we made the trek downtown and saw the show. I actually got to meet the guy. He seemed very regular, humble, made a few goofy jokes. But I didn't think the guy who I'd chatted with for a few minutes about his tour was the person who took the stage 45 minutes later.
The show started off well--everyone was thrilled that Josh was finally onstage. Girls were screaming, guys were not screaming, and everyone cheered loudly after his first song. But then he told everyone to quite down, and waited, and waited........and waited some more, probably for a full five minutes so that everyone would be quite. Mind you, this is in Downtown Brew, a BAR which means people DRINK and subsequently TALK. Apparently Joshua didn't get the memo. He started talking to the very front row only, so that none but them could hear what he was saying. He made jokes about the town, telling the people in the back who were talking to go walk around the "beautiful city they have" rather than chatting at the show. He even unplugged his guitar at one point and played three songs without the PA--all you could hear was him screaming every once in a while, and the people in the back still kept talking.
I think the worst part of it all was when people started filing out, and someone said, "You're loosing fans!". His response was, "Good, it'll weed out the suckers". I'm sorry pal, but no musician is above their fans, none.
It was painful to watch someone with a fairly reputed name, who obviously worked hard to get where he is, treat his audience like crap. It was as if he expected everyone to do exactly as he staid, like a child who knows if it cries, it will get what it wants.
The best part of the show was his last song. They were jamming away and right when Josh told his guitarist to take a solo, this lady who was standing right next to us by the sound board, put her elbow on the lighting system's kill switch, and the entire stage went black. Although it was the most awkward moment for that to happen, it was a perfect cap for such premadonna--lights going out at his final moment of glory.
Long story short: Joshua Radin = very self centered, crowd = half P.O.ed, have still loyal to the man, end result = man's got a short career ahead if he continues down that road.

Word of the Month

So it's been a bit longer than I anticipated since I've had a minute to put something down. But while writing emails this morning I came across an interesting twist on a word, and decided that I should start doing a "word of the month" segment.

Word of November: "Manner"
Adj.
Definition: The instance or cirumstance in which one displays characteristics superceding the currently exstablished norm of masculinity or manliness.

Please feel free to post your uses of this word throughout the month.
-NB

Why "The Rhombus"

So the title, "The Rhombus" actually hails from the days when my buddies and I used to jam in high school. Around our junior year we all were obcessed with Phish, and devoured all the literature we could about how they met, jammed, etc. But one interesting detail about their history was a section my buddy Sean and I read about the place Phish used to go and philosophize, which they termed The Rhombus. Apparently somewhere near where Phish lived, they found a giant rhombus sitting in the forest and decided to make this their meeting spot of sorts. Thinking this was a great idea, Sean and I went driving around Santa Rosa to find the spot which we could deem our own Rhombus. The place we found was a electrical shed, cut into the side of a hill next to a golf course. And if you climbed onto the hillside behind the building, you had to most amazing view of the city as well as complete privacy from anyone who might be passing by. Thus, our Rhombus became the place to which we retreated, to talk about life, faith, music, girls, etc. It became a place where you could step back from life and realize the intricacies of the situations which were presented to you, a place where you could tap into the zeal which drives our creative minds, and a place where you could appreciate the depth of true friendship. Therefore, I thought it quite fitting to call this blog, The Rhombus.
-NB